Ex-Cavs Stars Share Untold Story Behind LeBron James’ Legendary 2016 Finals Bus Ride

In 2016, LeBron James finally fulfilled his promise to bring a championship to the Cleveland Cavaliers. However, the path to the Larry O'Brien Trophy was not easy for that team, and it nearly slipped away.

The Cavs lost three of the first four Finals games to the Golden State Warriors that year. At the time, no team had come back from a 3-1 deficit in the NBA Finals, which meant the odds were completely stacked against James and co.

James knew that something had to change coming into Game 5, otherwise, they were going home empty-handed. He apparently partially inspired that shift during a bus ride right before the game.

That bus ride was discussed by two members of that squad: Iman Shumpert and Richard Jefferson on the latter's show. The two inevitably talked about that 2016 title and the 3-1 deficit they faced.

"It was that bus ride. As soon as it was in that bus ride, whatever guys said, when 'Bron started," Shumpert said. "When you're in one of those positions, you're just like, 'we're just going to come out here for Game 5 to fight on pride alone.'"

Shumpert also said that James hyped the squad by saying there would be too much pressure on the Warriors to win Game 6 if the Cavs stole Game 5. Meanwhile, there's zero pressure on the Cavs to win.

Shumpert and Jefferson agreed that at that point, the team started playing better because they realized that there was no pressure on them.

What happened next was legendary. With Draymond Green sidelined by a suspension, James and Kyrie Irving took advantage. Both stars dropped 41 points apiece to lead Cleveland to a road win, shrinking the deficit to 3-2.

From there, the Cavs took back the series and eventually pulled off the Game 7 victory with some heroics from James and Irving.

Aside from discussing the gravity of the situation, Shumpert and Jefferson also had some fun playing a game involving different versions of LeBron James.

Iman Shumpert Played a LeBron James Edition of 'Start, Bench, Cut'

As is tradition on the Richard Jefferson show, Iman Shumpert was asked to play 'start, bench, cut.'

The first category Jefferson laid out for Shumpert was the "2011 draft class edition." He was asked to choose among Kyrie Irving (1st overall), Klay Thompson (11th), and Kawhi Leonard (15th).

Immediately, Jefferson chose to start Irving. He chose to bench Thompson and cut Leonard. His reasoning was that he never had to deal with Leonard on the court.

The next category was style icons, with choices including Allen Iverson, Dennis Rodman, and Shumpert himself. Shumpert benched himself, started Iverson, and cut Rodman, saying that the former Bulls champion belonged in a different category.

Finally, Jefferson asked Shumpert to start, bench, and cut different versions of LeBron James. The options were LeBron in 2015, 2016, and 2018.

Shumpert started the 2016 version, which led them to a 3-1 comeback over the Warriors. Then, he benched the 2018 version. He went on to cut 2015 LeBron, citing that it was their first year playing together and they were still figuring things out.